Before the Badass
by blood-hybrid-of-darkness96
Summary: What was it like for John before he joined the Alliance Military? What did he actually do? let's find out.


**A/N: I felt weird having the back story and after story for Skyrim, but not both for Mass Effect, so here it is.**

 **Mass Effect: Before the Badass**

"What d'ya think, John?" Sammy asked me. I scowled at the person from the rival gang- James of the Uptown Ghosts.

"I think he invaded our territory, alone, with intent to kill me, and me alone. I have a right to do whatever the fuck I goddamn want."

"Well said, Johnny, well said." Sammy, the captain of the Tenth Street Reds, smiled maliciously and stepped back. James spat in my face.

"Fuck you!"

"Oh, shouldn't have done that, buddy. You just spat in the face of the deadliest motherfucking person in this whole damned city," Tim laughed behind me. I scowled even more, and flared my biotics. Even without training and an implant, my biotics were powerful enough to be used in combat. The downside was they were unstable, and caused me debilitating psychotic episodes. Even my captain was scared of me.

"Any last words, bitch?"

"Yeah," James grinned. "Surprise!" as soon as he said that, his entire gang busted through our front door. I reacted instantly. I threw a barrier up around all of us, and slammed the Ghosts into the wall, holding them there. They'd managed to pop off a few shots with their pistols. Tim was curled on the ground, clutching his heavily bleeding stomach.

"Tim!" I snarled and changed the barrier into a singularity, into which all the Ghosts were pulled, floating around each other, screaming.

"EAT SHIT FUCKERS!" I threw a warp at the Ghost captain. The detonation ripped them all apart. I turned to James, who was pale, and shaking. I grabbed his shallow cheeks and lifted him up.

"If Timmy dies, you're next." I dropped him and ran to my best friend. He was bleeding heavily.

"Get him to my bay!" I shouted at a few of the Reds. They jumped to and lifted my dying friend, and hurried him into the other room, where I had set up a med bay with odd bits of tech and eezo. When Sam had heisted that ambulance and kidnapped a doctor, Doc Lears had been impressed by my electronic capabilities. Then he'd found out I'm a Biotic, and had immediately treated like I had a contagious, deadly disease. He wasn't the first.

I barged into my room and shoved the others side, trying to get to my friend. I was always looking after him. I was looking after all of them. It was my job as the oldest member of the Reds. I turned eighteen the day before. I'd been offered the Captain position, but had given it to Sammy, because I didn't feel comfortable in leadership roles. I was a protector, not a leader. I hit a switch on my machine, and it whirred to life, bringing up an X-ray of Timmy's stomach. The bullet was inches from his spine, and had gone through his stomach and liver.

"Tim, I have to pull it out. I'm going to get a drip going to refill your blood," I said calmly. Tim grunted, tears streaming down his face. Everyone mocked me for reading, until it saved their lives. I hooked an IV we had stored from that Ambulance heist into his arm. Once I was sure it was working I held my hand over Timmy's stomach.

"One, two," I used Pull on two, surprising everyone. Tim screamed, but I held the bullet in my hand. I flipped a few switches and the machine sent a laser through the hole, cauterizing the wound. Tim would have a cool fucking hole in his gut forever now, that would eventually grow shut. But at least now, we didn't have to worry about infection.

"Three. You're supposed to Pull on three, you crazy son-of-a-bitch," Tim panted. I grinned and rolled the bullet in between my fingers.

"Ah, but you were expecting that. Now stay still, you're still missing a lot of blood. I turned to Chris.

"Make sure he stays awake. If he falls asleep right now, he might never wake up," I growled. Chris nodded violently and I stalked back out to the final remaining Ghost.

"You're lucky I managed to save Tim."

"So I get to live?"

"Fuck no. You still tried to kill me."

"Johnny, you always do give the best shows," Sam drawled from his chair. My grin was feral as I flared my biotics and Pushed the bullet in my hand. It shot into James' gut, the same spot Timmy was hit. He screamed as I Pulled small bits of his flesh off, ripping him apart slowly. The rest of the Reds came out, hooting and hollering as I tortured James to death. I'd Pull skin, muscle, and small chunks of bone out, causing him extreme, fresh agony every second.

"Just... fucking... kill me!" he finally screamed. I coated my hand in Dark Energy and grabbed his Trachea.

"With pleasure," I purred and I ripped his throat out. He gave a wet gurgle as his viscous red blood flowed freely from his neck. I watched as his eyes slowly dimmed into the darkness of death. The others cheered louder.

"Hey, that means all the Ghosts are dead! We own this city!" suddenly, everyone was breaking out in dance. They always found the smallest reason to party. I turned and stalked out the door, past the fleshy chunks of the other Ghosts. No-one noticed I left.

I walked through the run-down streets, hands in my pockets, and everyone I passed cringed in fear when they saw my affiliation tat. A single eyeball, dripping blood, was emblazoned on my right shoulder, the sign of the Reds. I was given a wide berth. I passed several people I knew to be shop owners, because Sam would always insist I be there for the 'protection collection.' I never liked the extortion racket we ran, and the shop owners knew it, so when we saw each other without other Reds around, we were polite, one could even say we might be friends.

"Hello, John. Something happen?"

"No, Mrs. Hameson. I just needed some cleaner air. I'm heading to the Shine." she nodded assent. The Shine was what we in the slums called the nice, clean part of the city, where you could see the sky, and the air was fresh. It took me a good three hours to walk there, but I always found it worth it. Vancouver was a big place. I walked around, uncomfortable under the piercing gazes of all the dressed up rich people. They always judged me because I only wear a pair of pants and shoes. Sammy insisted I not wear a shirt, because a) it showed off my mark, and b) that way people could see my physique more easily.

I wasn't what one would call a body-builder, but I was still fairly muscular. All the Reds were, to some degree.

I kept walking, until I reached a small diner that had a homey feel to it. I entered and sat at the bar. The waitress eyed me, then shrugged and smiled at me.

"What can I getcha hun?" I swiped a menu and looked through it. Before I said anything, I heard the voice of a guy a few years younger than me.

"I recommend the soup of the day. Today's is Tomato with Basil." I stiffened as the kid sat next to me. I glanced at him sideways. He was about sixteen, and his hair was styled short into a mohawk-type thing.

"What do you want, kid?"

"Company. My name's Kaiden, by the way," he said with a crooked grin. I felt something off about him, but couldn't place what it was. Until I saw the scars at the base of his neck.

"You're a Biotic," I said, turning to face him fully. My long hair swished with the motion.

"Yeah," he said casually. "And you're a gang member from the slums. You never introduced yourself. That's rude, you know."

I gave him a hard stare, then it melted into a smirk. "John," I said, before taking his suggestion and ordering the soup. I saw his brows crinkle.

"I've heard that name, when I was visiting my cousin at the police station. You're not John the Red Menace, are you?"

"Bingo, buddy." he looked at me again, this time with wonderment.

"But that means you're a Biotic too!" I nodded hesitantly. "Is it true your Biotics are powerful enough to be used practically without an implant?" I nodded again. He squealed and bounced in his chair.

"Okay, look... Kaiden. We obviously got two very different reactions as Biotics. The way I learned, they ain't nothing to be proud of. They're monstrous and evil. So excuse me if I don't wanna talk about it." with that, I turned to my newly arrived soup. I got halfway through before I heard something.

"Kaiden, there you are!"

"Yessir, sorry, Captain."

"Who's that you're sitting with?" I stiffened. The voice sounded black, and maybe mid-thirties or fourties.

"His name's John, Sir."

"So, you've got a military babysitter, eh?" I hissed and whirled around, only to be face tto face with the most imposing man I'd ever seen. He didn't look all that strong, but the way he carried himself set me on edge.

"Babysitter? Oh no, I was escorting Private Alenko her to shuttle for ship-out." I snorted a laugh and reclined back against the bar.

"You expect me to believe, Mr. 'I bounce when I find a Biotic' here is in the military? At sixteen?"

"Wether you believe it or not is irrelevant," the guy said with his eyes narrowing. Then he caught on to what I said. "You're a Biotic?"

"Strongest one on Earth, by all counts," I said with a cocky smirk. His eyes widened, then he finally zeroed in on my Mark.

"How'd you like to leave that gang, son?" I scoffed, even though I felt the desperation enter my eyes.

"Leave the Reds? You're fazed, man. No-one leaves the Reds. They'd kill me first." he smiled.

"Call me Anderson. And if you ship out in the next hour, they'll never know, will they?" I was about to respond, when my second-hand Omni-tool blinked a comm line.

"Johnny! We need- fucking amb- help!" I stared at it blankly. I got the gist. The Ghosts weren't all dead, and they ambushed the Reds once I left. Anderson looked at my OT.

"You build that interface?" I nodded silently. "We can get you help for your Biotics, son. I bet there are major drawbacks to being so powerful. We can also have you set up to tinker and build whatever you want. All we ask is discipline and commitment." I looked at him, torn between loyalty to the home I've known for eighteen years, and the desire for a new life. A fresh start. I finally made my decision.

"Can I finish my soup?" he nodded and sat next to me, ordering the same.

"So, Private. What's your last name?"

"...Shepard."


End file.
